Helping Hands

The Big Event

More than a thousand students, faculty, staff, and community members traded an April Saturday morning of sleeping in for a day of service benefiting local communities. Volunteers for The Big Event spent time at 37 worksites, including the Arlington Boys and Girls Club, where they erected an outfield fence for the baseball diamond. Other projects included building wheelchair ramps, cleaning parks and animal shelters, assisting with Earth Day festivities, stuffing Easter eggs for area children, and even digging for fossils. This year’s effort was the biggest yet—the first Big Event was in 2000—surpassing the volunteer goal of 1,000. “UT Arlington provides not only an academic plan for success in the classroom but also real-world, hands-on education through service learning opportunities with programs like The Big Event,” says Tiffany Kaminski ’11, who has directed the program for two years. “It helps volunteers realize who their community is, the profound impact their actions can have, and how they can continue to give back in service even after The Big Event is over.”